vrijdag 24 maart 2017

The Lock keeper of Groningen

The Lock keeper of Groningen and his service bicycle

By bliba Is there a spot more lovely than the rest,
By art improved, by nature truly blest?
A noble river at its base running,
It is a little village known as Sonning.
— James Sadler, Sonning lock keeper (1845–1885).

this frindly look keeper drives with his service bicycle everyday from bridge to bridge .....sometimes up to 25 miles

Locks on commercial canals are usually power operated. The lock keeper, who no longer lives on site, controls the whole process from a control room overlooking the lock. In the modern age the control of traffic and locks on canals is being centralised. A single control centre can remotely operate several locks and moveable bridges in a wide area, overseeing the process using CCTV. For example, the Tilburg control centre in the Netherlands will remotely control 18 locks and 28 moveable bridges from 2015 on. This allows for a reduction in manpower while still providing round-the-clock service to water traffic. As the controller now has overview over the traffic moving through one lock after another, he can anticipate the arrival of boats by turning the lock in advance, having boats wait for another coming from behind to handle them simultaneously, or decide whether to turn a lock empty for a boat going in one direction or to wait for one going in the other direction.